SSE remains a ‘hold as National Grid continues to offer more for investors

As SSE reports full year results Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at The Share Centre, explains why he recommends investors ‘hold’.
 
“SSE reported full year results this morning that announced pre-tax profits up 9.6% in a challenging period for utilities as its electricity transmission operations performed well. Investors will be pleased to hear the full year dividend is up 2.5p compared to last year to 86.7p.
 
“We recommend SSE as a ‘hold’ for income investors. The group offers a prospective yield of 5.7% and is aiming for dividend increases to be at least equivalent to inflation going forward. The share price has performed well since the beginning of the year, after falling off in the second half of 2013, and we believe at these levels growth prospects may not be as attractive. For investors looking for exposure to utilities we prefer National Grid, a solid dividend payer which is less affected by political pressures than others in the sector.”